Book-Talk Monday: What Are You Reading?
Monday, January 9, 2012
This is “Book-Talk Monday,” so let’s talk about books!
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- What is the most recent book you’ve finished reading? (Please tell us a little about it, and whether or not you enjoyed/would recommend it.)
- What are you currently reading?
- What’s the next book on your To Be Read stack?
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The last book I read was Seduced by Grace which I discussed on last Monday’s post, so I won’t bore you with the details again.
You’d think that with me being sick for almost two weeks (I’m feeling much better, just trying to deal with the lingering cough now) that I’d have gotten a few books read by now. However, reading was the last thing I wanted to do. And since I really need to be writing (as in a couple thousands words a day) this month, I probably shouldn’t be thinking about reading. But I do have some things waiting on my Kindle (some good free downloads) to be read for when I do get my first draft finished.
What about you?
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KayeDacus.com 
I understand about not reading when feeling sick. I have the same issue. I know I am sick when I cant read.
Just finished Oklahoma Reunion by Tina Radcliffe its a Love Inspired book. I really enjoyed the book. The story is of Kait who has come back home after 8 years to close up the family house and to introduce her daughter to her father Ryan. The book deals with the issues as to why they were separated, why its taken so long to come back and tell him and see what happens next. I found it to be a good book.
I am now reading At Home in His Heart by Glynna Kaye another LI book and I am liking it. totally different from the past few books as its not set in a farming community.
Next good question, maybe a book set in New York state or I may read one of the Aussie books I recently bought. I am reading a book from each state so not sure what next.
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What states haven’t you read yet?
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Hi Kaye i started over for the year. I got to read every state last year. Mississippi was the hardest to find. this year I have done Illinois, Montana and Oklahoma now on Arizona.
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The Last Twelfth Imam, Joel Rosenberg
The Tehran Iniatiative Joel Rosenberg
continuing to read Writing The Christian Romance
I read the 1st chapter of a book on fb and I’m asking around if anyone else did and remembers the author or the title. The story haunts me and I want to know what happens.
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Meredith, was it on the Chapter-a-Week Book Club? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chapter-a-Week-Book-Club/48456973308
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I’m currently [slowly] working on Sandi Rog’s newest, Yashua’s Bridge, and an unpubbed MS by a friend and loving both of them.
The last book I finished was Nickels by Karen Baney and thoroughly enjoyed it. The review is on my blog today.
Which reminds me that I still need to email you, Kaye :p. But first I have to go get tags for the new van…
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Yes, you do, because I’m very curious about what you have to say that you couldn’t post on your blog!
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The last book I finished was Lady in the Mist, by Laurie Alice Eakes. I downloaded the kindle version a while ago because it was free, started reading it and then put it aside because I couldn’t seem to get interested. Then someone (it might have been a comment on this blog) said that they’d really enjoyed it, so I picked it back up. I wouldn’t say I disliked it, but I didn’t think it was great either. I liked the premise, but the “mystery” aspect of the plot didn’t work on so many levels. I would recommend it to people who really like sweet, fairly typical Christian romance, and who have a high tolerance for contrived mystery/ intrigue.
I haven’t started another book yet, because I have quite a few other things on my plate that I need to be focusing on, and if I start reading it will all get pushed to the back burner. The next one I start will probably be White, by Ted Dekker, because I have it checked out of the library and should probably read it before it’s due back. It’s the third book in his Circle series, which is an unusual (to put it mildly) Christian allegory. I read the first two almost a year ago, but they kind of messed with my head and gave me some disturbing dreams, so I put off requesting this one. They make me think though, and are interesting enough that I do want to finish the series. We’ll see, I could still wimp out and return it to the library unread 😀
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I downloaded the Steven James novel Pawn last night—which was apparently the last day that it was up for free—as something I’ve heard a lot about but it isn’t my usual genre. I also downloaded Dee Henderson’s Witness, even though I tried to read it several years ago when it first came out (in paperback) but I put it down after several chapters. But that may be because it had been so recently since I’d read (and loved) the O’Malley series. So, like you, on the advice from others here, I’ll probably give that one a try. Eventually.
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I just downloaded that too! (Because I saw the comment on your Facebook post and it was still free)
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Currently reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bordain for book club with my fiance Laura, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo on my phone at work, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets whenever I have time in between.
The last three I finished were The Gift by Cecilia Ahern for book club (blech, most frustrating ending in recent memory), Macbeth on my phone (turns out I thought I didn’t like Shakespeare as a kid because I was a kid, turns out I actually don’t particularly care for Shakespeare even as an adult) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in between (greatly enjoyed this since up until now I had only seen the movies. This is my first go with the books).
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I haven’t read Kitchen Confidential, but it’s on my wishlist. I’ll be interested to know what you and Laura think about it. (I like Tony, but sometimes he does get on my nerves.)
I had to take a Shakespeare course as an undergrad. I scraped a C out of it—and discovered that I do generally like the romances/comedies but not much else (Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, etc.), but rather than reading them, they’re much better when performed. I couldn’t make it through trying to read Hamlet or Macbeth (thank goodness for Cliff’s Notes in the pre-internet days) or any of the histories. However, the Kenneth Branagh version of Henry V is spectacular.
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Last night I finished “To Have and to Hold” by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller – Great beginning to a new historical series. It takes place in 1886, around the time when Jekyll Island was being developed as a resort for wealthy northerners. There is love, misunderstanding, sabotage, humor, and more love. 🙂 I liked it.
I’m reading, in nonfiction spurts, Jon Acuff’s “Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job.” Not bedtime reading unless you want to stay up THINKING the rest of the night!
Next on my list is Colleen Coble’s “The Lightkeeper’s Daughter.” I can’t believe I’ve not read any of hers yet!
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I haven’t read any of Colleen Coble’s books yet either but I do have a few, I just haven’t got to them yet.
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The Peterson/Miller book is on my wishlist, too.
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I just finished “A Lasting Impression” by Tamera Alexander it was great and I would definitely recommend it. I am now around halfway through “Head in the Clouds” by Karen Witemeyer another great book. I don’t know what I will be reading next.
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I love Karen Witemeyer, Head in the Clouds was great. Her writing has so much humor.
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Head in the Clouds is one of the books I’m debating about as my next Audible.com download to listen to on my commute. The Girl in the Gatehouse is another.
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I have also had a bad cough and cold and not quite over it yet I have had it since the end of October it seems to start going away and then when I think its over it returns. So I hope you are doing better.
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I used to come down with an Upper Respiratory Infection every year right after Christmas. One year (the year the Titans were in the Super Bowl, as a matter of fact—that was ’98 or ’99) I lived in denial that I was getting sick for so long, I ended up having to go to the emergency room after the Super Bowl because my throat was so swollen and sore I couldn’t swallow.
Not as bad this time, though I probably should have taken a few days off work and I might have recovered faster.
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Just finished Dreaming of Home, a 2009 LI from Glynna Kaye. It was her highly touted debut so it was on my TBR list for awhile. Definitely worthy of the praise as it was a fun, heartwarming read. A little different from the average LI in its setting and inclusion of a Hispanic hero.
About to begin reading Grace Octavia’s Should Have Known Better, followed by Pat Simmons’s Guilty By Association.
Regina, I need to be reading Acuff’s book. I love his blog, Stuff Christians Like.
Feel better everyone!
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I had to stop reading Acuff’s blog—because I could spend hours reading the comments on each post!
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Patricia I loved Glynna’s first book too I am reading the third one which is linked to the first two. (not as fast as I would like as I have been so tired).
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I recently finished Julie Klassen’s The Maid of Fairbourne Hall. I read this in only a few days as it was so hard to put down. I really enjoy Julie’s novels and this was another wonderful story. Now I’m reading Darlene Franklin’s Bridge to Love (Maple Notch Brides). The first book in this series was excellent and I’m enjoying this one so far. This is set about the same time period, but in Vermont, as opposed to Julie’s regency England. As I’m reading it is an interesting contrast and I love both settings. But it was hard to find a book to read to follow The Maid of Fairbourne Hall. Next I’ll be reading The Colonel’s Lady by Laura Frantz and will savor this one, too.
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I agree, Maid of Faribourne Hall was captivating and hard to follow, All of Julie Klassen’s books are like that.
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I love Julie’s books because of the English settings . . . I just wish she’d branch out from the Regency era, because there are so many more (and more interesting) time periods in British history, which I’d love to see covered in Christian fiction, not just general-market fiction.
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I just finished The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden, I was reviewing it for the CFBA on my blog. I enjoyed it, Libby is a spinster daughter of an eccentric inventor, while visiting her brother’s family home, Michael Dobrescu and his family arrive from Romania and claim their home as his inheritance from a deceased uncle. Libby and Michael should be enemies, but they’re finding the attraction hard to resist. Camden did a great job handling some very serious subjects, such as abuse and illiteracy to name a few, while still keeping the story light hearted and romantic to balance the seriousness.
Right now I’m reading The Crossing by Serita Jakes for another review, it’s inspirational fiction, and Lady’s Choice by Amanda Scott a highland romance novel and He Walked the Americas by L. Taylor Hansen about the legends of the natives in the Americas regarding the bearded white god and unknown prophet.
My TBR pile has several more for review plus The Help for my book club.
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I watched the movie of The Help last week. And while it was somewhat entertaining, it didn’t leave me with a burning desire to read the book.
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I think I enjoyed the movie more since I had read the book. But as much as I love a really great epic book, I think that one could have been done in a much shorter format. IMHO
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Oh, no. Now I’m begining to dread it. lol. I haven’s seen the movie yet, and it was a club pick so I’m stuck with it. Here’s hoping it’s better than I’m now expecting. 🙂
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April, you’ll probably enjoy it! I think it just caught me at a bad place, when I wasn’t feeling my best, anyway! I would imagine it would be a fun one to discuss with other readers. 🙂
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Hey, all—I just noticed that Elizabeth Camden’s book The Lady of Bolton Hill is available as a free Kindle download: http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Bolton-Hill-ebook/dp/B004XM3WB0/ref=zg_bs_154606011_54
It’s one I preordered/purchased in paperback when it first came out and just haven’t had time to get to. So maybe now that I have it in a more portable version ;-), I might actually get to it sooner rather than later!
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Oh, Lady of Bolton Hill is fantastic, Kaye! It’s worth delving into. I loved The Rose of Winslow Street too.
Noticed that most of the comments are about historical fiction so I’ll break the trend. I’ve just started reading The Chase by Debra White Smith. It’s a suspense…though I wonder if you could call it that since we know whodunnit and the hero and heroine know who dunnit they just can’t catch the person. It’s intriguing though with a unique twist. Hero and heroine are exs. but when their young son is kidnapped they come together in their grief and fear — the chase is on so to speak. What’s neat is that the author gives us lots of flashbacks to when they were married and the break-up. We get to see what went wrong in their marriage and how it might go right. I think that adds an interesting layer. I’m about a third of the way through.
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The Lady of Bolton Hill is on my wishlist, but I don’t have a kindle I just get the printed versions.
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I thoroughly enjoyed The Lady of Bolton Hill. Very good.
I just finished Turnabout’s Fair Play. I think we all know who the author is. Firethorn by Ronie Kendig is up next, then it’s back into historicals to get my brain focused on my WIP.
I’m also reading a book called NFL Unplugged and it’s fascinating!
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I recently finished Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin. Lynn’s one of my favorite authors and Wonderland Creek didn’t dissapoint. It’s almost 400 pages and I flew through it in one day because I couldn’t put it down. It’s about the horse-back riding librarians in the mountains during the depression. So good.
Just started A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander because many people have told me it is very good. So far I’m finding it slow.
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” A Lasting Impression” is very interesting believe me, I just finished it.
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Last book I read was ‘Searching for Pemberley’ by Mary Lydon Simonsen, and currently I’m reading ‘Wonderland Creek’ by Lynn Austin and ‘Weekend with Mr. Darcy’ by Victoria Connelly.
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I finished The Flinch by Julien Smith. So good. It’s a spur to action kind of book.
And I am currently trying to get through The Huguenot Sword. I don’t usually read swashbucklers, but wanted to expand my horizons a bit. I haven’t had a good slot of time to take it in properly to give it a fair shake. I am hoping that I will be able to this weekend.
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